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Friday, June 22, 2012

Pub Complaints

Am I the only one being driven mad every time I am served beer in a glass with no line on it to indicate a pint? I'm sure that they always used to have these things, but recently the glasses seem to have become smaller and the pint level is assumed to be right at the top, presumably in order to make an extra profit of around 10% (my estimate).

It really annoys me, because even if you are stroppy as I am and ask for it to be topped up, the beer is then almost like a bubble on top of the glass and you invariably spill some of it over your freshly laundered shirt on the way back from the bar (and look a bit silly). If you are buying two or three then you end up having to drink a bit out of each of them before daring to walk away, which makes you look like a wino.

Whilst we're on the subject of pub madness, why do I always have to have a new glass rather than just have my old one refilled, thus saving the energy required to wash it up? Is it some imagined 'Health and Safety' risk? Neither can you bring your own oversized glass with a pint mark on it, because it might not be something-or-other to do with breaking that I can't remember.

Finally has anyone been to a pub where you can keep your own pewter tankard behind the bar? I've never tried beer from one but apparently it improves the taste.

It's strange really, when pubs are closing down all over the place, that we have so many silly little things that just put people off and encourage them to stay at home, where at least you know how much is in your supermarket bottle of lager and can drink it from your own boot if you so choose.

10 comments:

Anonymous
said...

All glass are stamped (half/pint)and contain a pint/or half - some like a head on it some don't.As for the clean glass, yep we are supposed to give a clean glass every time - but regulars usually like to reuse once or twice.cheers!xx

Tankards, simple, go to Imperial College, get elected to run a society/club or get elected to a union office and your name gets added to a tankard behind the bar. granted its not just yours, but as you get older there is less chance an older name will "pot" you

Lots of people don't have clean hands (surprisingly large amounts don't wash their hands after going to the toilet) the germs are put on their glass as they handle it, the bar staff touch the dirty glass when they refill it. Then, they touch your glass which you then put to your mouth and touch with your hands that may then go in your mouth. Much better to have a clean glass

I used to work in a pub! Glasses have to stamped with a certification in order to comply with Trading Standards requirements, and the more common practice is to use the capacity of the glass rather than the "line" so that the "head" is actually over the top of the glass - which most customers seem to prefer. Some 'pints' such as cider don't in fact have a "head". The pump nozzles are adjustable to control the amount of "head" and a bar-person really shouldn't mind topping it up for you. The problem is partly solved by the use of metered pumps which dispense the exact amount.

As regards washing glasses, we just used commonsense. Beer leaves a foamy residue on the glass which can make it look dirtier than it is, and if someone's buying another round, then using clean glasses solves the problem of remembering whose glass is whose. Pubs nowadays are trying to move towards unbreakable glasses in order to cut down on the incidence of injuries caused by "glassing" fights.

Some smaller pubs and clubs let regular customers keep their own personal tankard behind the bar: it's largely a matter of space more than anything else.

This is why regulars used to take their own tankards into pubs. (To which Tweety Pie alluded). Take your own glass, suitably marked (like homework - a neat line, straight through), with the legend "see me afterwards" alongside if you should happen to fancy a member of the bar staff... ;-) x

I was told that the clean glass rule was a hygiene issue - the rim of the glass touches saliva, and some of the drinks we served involved the rim touching the nozzle of the pump. (which sounds vaguely rude come to think of it) Hence a new glass would mean the washer had to go on sooner but it would absolve us of any blame for spreading colds and worse...

I've been in the bar trade for years, real ale pumps dip to the bottom of the glass and lager and cider pumps dip the nozzle while pouring. I really don't want to be serving a customer a pint of beer combined with the saliva of the last person who wanted to use the same glass. as a drinker I don't wouldn't kiss the bloke next to me so why would I want to drink his saliva?